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Three people, boating off Catalina Island, spot a small plane plunge into the ocean and rescue the pilot and his passenger. Reggie Kumar reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. (Published Sunday, Jan 5, 2014)

Four miles from Catalina Island, Michael Anthony Naffziger was on a boat with his brother and his brother’s wife when they spotted a small two-seat plane above them with engine problems.

Naffziger heard no engine noise then saw the plane plunge into the ocean.

Dramatic LA News Photos

"I was just thinking, ‘We’re going to help these people. We’re going to help these people at any cost,’” he said. “Thank God we were there. It was divine intervention.”